Absorption apparatus



1932- E. ALTENKIRCH 1,851,173

ABSORPTION APPARATUS Filed Jan. 3, 1929 Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ili l mu l:

May 31, 1932. E. ALTENKIRCH ABSORPTION APPARATUS Filed Jan. 5, 1929 3Sheets-Sheet 2 May 31, 1932.

E. ALTENKIRCH ABSORPTION APPARATUS Filed Jan. 3, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Patented M y 15 v UNITED STA S- EDMUND A, 0] NEUENHAGEN,

PATENT orrlcsf NEAR BERLIN, GERHAKY, ABSIGNOB' TO SIEMENB-SGHUGKEBTWEBKEAKTIENGESEILS GHAIT; OF BELIN-SIEIENSSTADT} GERMANY, A. GJBPORATION OIGERIANY 5 4 'ABSOBP'IIOK APPARATUS Application fled January 8,1928,Serial No.

My invention relatesto improvements in absorption apparatus,'of thetypeior 1nstance shown and described and claimed as to certainparticular features in m -copending applications Serial No. 99 890, ed Ar11 5, 1926; Serial No. 309,262, tiled Septem er- 29, 1928, and SerialNo. 141,929 filed October 16, 1926, of which the present apphcation 1s acontinuation-in part. I I

In absorption apparatus ofv this type it s well known to'return into theabsorber system excess quantities of operating hquid, which duringtheevaporation in the .refrigr erator have not been converted into gas orvapor. The pipe provided for the purpose is called the return pipe.

The object of my invention is an' improved process of operating suchan'absorption apparatus provided with a return pipe. ,According to myinvention gas is developed from the liquid operating medium contained inthe return pipe by the application of heat. This liquid contained in thereturn pipe forms an accumulation or a store of liquid operating mediumwithin the apparatus, which does not directly participate in the thermalprocesses, but which may be drawn upon when needed. The richer thisaccumulation or store of liquid isin refrigerant, the less refrigeranttakes part in the working rocesses within the refrigerating system, andhe poorer it is the more refrigerant participates in these workingprocesses/By adjusting the temperature .of this storeof iquid it is thuspossible to adapt the quantit of refrigerant operating in the machine tot e working confor the boiler by steam, this is in itself a seriousdrawback, because the height of the heats teaser, aa- 111 Germanyuntil-is, 1m.

in steam temperature is limited. The expe ledlgas is, furthermore, mixedwith a quantity of vapor of'the solvent which is the larger the higher?the temperature and the quantity of heat to beapplied rises with thetemperature, because for many binary mixtures, in articular for waterand ammonia, the, heat of solution is greatenathigher tem-' peraturesandthe heat wasted by radiation also increases. If, however, accordingto my invention the quantity of gas required by the evaporator issupplemented from -a store formed in the return pipe, this detrimental,eiiect' on the expulsion temperature and the h at radiation iseliminated.

imilar phenomena develop if the cooling medium by which the reabsorberor the condenser is cooled should, for outside reasons,

suffer a' drop in temperature. In the customary' constructions of suchapparatus the reabsorber as well as the condenser have the tendency tofill up with liquid and thus to attract refrigerant working medium. Acorresponding quantity of this working medium is thus abstracted fromthe absorber system and may then be replaced according to my' invention.This holds good for apparatus in which the pressure difference isequalized by the admixture ofa neutral or inert gas, as well as forapparatus which operate without a neutral gas. I

The amount ofheatwhic'h is saved by" replacing the uantity of workingmedium which is missing in" the absorption syste is considerably greaterthan the quantity heat which is necessary to maintain the store ofliquid in the return er temperature. v

If it is desired to obtain higher out uts from an absorption apparatusof any 0 the types mentioned by increasing the temperature and theamount of heat supplied tothe' boiler, the concentration of the'solutiouis pipe at a slightly highpreferably reducedfor this purpose.In...

such a case the temperature of the store con- :9

tained in the return pipe isreducedby ,decreasing the. application ofheat, so that more working .medium is here detained.

The gas bubbles developing lathe liquid to be returned may also be usedfor conveyevaporator 21.

ing liquid, which is of particular value, if the vessel into which theliquid is to be returned is located so high, that the pressuredifference between the beginning and the end of the return pipe alone isnot suflicient to overcome the difierence in height.

In the drawings afiixed hereto several modifications of apparatusembodying my inventus operating on the reabsorption principle,

and

Fig. 3 represents a third modification differing only slightly from Fig.2 in certain spfieci c features to be pointed out hereina r Referring toFig. 1, it will be seen that the gaseous working medium mixed with alightor inert gas .escapes from the evaporator 21 through the pipe 22which leads to the lower part of the absorber 23. From the upper part ofthe absorber 23 ascends the gas mixture, which has been freed from thelarger portion of the refrigerant working medium and has thus become,lighter, through a ipe 24 the highest point of which is located a ovethe gas outlet of, the evaporator 21. The pipe 24 opens into the lowerpart of the The absorption 1i uid enriched in the absorber passes thronga pipe 25 into the generator or boiler formed y a -vertical coil 26heated by an electric heatm rod 27. From herethis liquid is convey intothe rectifier-29*by. the gas bubbles developed by means of the ascendintube 1 From-the rectifier'29a pipe 30 lea s the impoverished absorptionhquidback to-the absorber 23, which pipe, through close contactwiththealreadymentioned pipe 25 forms a heat exchanging device.The-gaseous working medium separated in therectifier 29 as cends througha pipe 31 into the condenser 32 and is there condensed; ,The condensateenters theevaporator (or refrigerator) 21 at its upper end. Thisevaporator is connected with the-upper part of the rectifier 29 (the"rectification space) by a- U-shaped return pipe 33, in the lefthandascending part of w ich is connected a storage tank or accu- The liquidoperating medium not vapor ized in the evaporator '21 drains off throughthe return pipe 33 and passes into thestorage tank This tank isequippedwith a heating cartridge 35 by means of which the liquidoperating medium may be freed from gas to a greater or smaller extent.

It then entersthe rectification space of the rectifier 29. As thisliquid runs down the plates located here, it comes into repeated contactwith the gaseous working medium boiled out of the absorption liquid bythe boiler 26 and delivered through the pipe 28, the aforementionedliquid assisting in freeing this gaseous workin medium from the admixedvapor of the so vent.

The as expelled by heating the liquid in the tan 34 passes through thepipe 31 into the condenser 32. The higher the temperature is at whichthe storage tank 34 is maintained by the heating cartridge 35, the lessworking medium is detained in the storage tank and the more operates inthe refrigerating system.

ig. 2 of the drawings illustrates a refrigerating apparatus operating onthe reabsorption principle in which the circulation of an inert gas isproduced by a jet nozzle. Referring to thls figure it will be observedthat the va or jet emanates from the nozzle 73 and e ects thecirculation through the pipe 46 issuing from the evaporator 41.51 Thevapor for this jetis supplied throu h a pipev the gas mixture poor inrefrigerant working medium returns through the pipe 44 to the evaporator41. The liquid working medium necessary for charging evaporator 41 flowsfrom the reabsorber 66 into the evaporator through a U-shaped ipe 42.The impoverished absorption so ution flows from the evaporator throughipe 62, which in close contact with pipe 42 orms'a heat exchanging'device, into'an intermediate tank 63, forms inthe-lower part of thistank a store of liquid;4 and drains through the pipe 65.

To pipe 65 is also su plied, through a-"pipe connection 61' with t eearlier mentioned gw receptacle 71,figaseous refrigerant delivered fromthe recti er 52 to receptacle '71." Gas and impoverished absorptionliquid ascend together in the pipe 65 and enter the up r portionof thereabsorber 66,"; The liqui within this vessel pver the coiled pipe 67traversed by the cooling water and absorbs the gas, while the absorptionheat is occurs in the condenser Fig. 1, but the term is used in thesense that the refrigerant fluid is contracted, or made to occupy asmaller space. When a gas is absorbed in a solvent as well as when it isliquefied, it occupies a smaller space than it did when a gas.Therefore, *whether the gas is merely absorbed, such store of enrichedliquid 54 at the bottom ofthe rectifier. Through a pipe 55 this liquidis returned into the boiler 56, which is heated by an, electric heatingcartridge 57. The gas expelled by the application of heat ascends, mixedwith absorption liquid, in a pipe 58 into the gas separator .59. Gas andabsorption liquid separate here. The impoverished liquid returns throughthe pipe 50 into the absorber 48, while the gas isconducted into therectifier'52 througha pipe 60. Here the gas passes in counter-flow pastthe descending rich absorption liquid supplied from the absorber 48, isfreed of a considerable portion of its contents of vaporous absorptionmedium and then escapes from the rectifier 52 through the pipe 61 intoreceptacle 71 and pipe 61 described before. 1

Excess quantities of gas are conducted from the reabsorber 66 into theaforementioned intermediate storage'tank 63 through a pipe 68. A,further gas pipe69 serves for the return. of these. gas remainders intothe absorber 48, which they enter from the bottom after they havetraversed the lower extension 70 which forms a receptacle for the 1iuid.

n the intermediate tank 63 is provided an overflow formed by the openend of the return pipe 74. Excess liquid accumulating in the tank passesthrough this pipe into the absorber 48. In the rising portion of thepipe 74 forming a liquid seal is arranged a storage tank 75 the liquidcontents of which can beheated by a heating cartridge 76. The gasbubbles developed thereby from the luguid convey the liquid into theabsorber even if the pressure difference existing between the absorber48 and the auxiliary tank 63 does alone not suffice for overcoming thedifference in height. Otherwise the apparatus acts in a si'm1lar manneras the apparatus illustrated in ,Fig. 1, the only difierence being thatthe rectificationbf the returned solution has been abandoned.

' The third modification illustrated in Fig.

the just described one only by the feature, that the'return pipe 81designed as-liquid seal and starting from the auxiliary tank 63 and inthe rising portion of which there is again located a storage tank 82heated by a heating cartridge 83, does not open into the absorber 48,but into the rectification chamber of the rectifier 52. The returnedoperating medium thus assists in the rectification as long as it isliquid and not heated at all or only moderately so.

Various modifications and changes may be made without departing from thespirit and the scope of the invention.

Lclaim as myinvention 1. In a continuously operating absorptionapparatus, in combination, a generator, a condenser, an evaporator andanabsorber, all of said parts being connected in communication with oneanother, pipes connectin the generator and the absorber and provi ing aliquid circulating system, a pipe connecting the evaporator with saidliquid circulating systemfior returning unevaporated working medium fromthe evaporator into said system, means for heating the returned liquidprior to its entrance into said system for the purpose of developing gasfrom said liquid,and means for introducing said gas into said system.

2. In a continuously operating absorption apparatus, in combination, agenerator, a condenser, an evaporator and an absorber, all

of said parts being connected in unrestricted communication with oneanother, pipes conprovidinga liquid, circulating system, a pipeconnecting the evaporator with said liquid circulatin system forreturning unevaporated wor ing medium from the evaporator into saidsystem, means for heatin the returned liquid prior to its entrance intosaid system 'for the purpose of developing gas from said liquid, andmeans for introducing said gas into said s stem, said returnpipe beingU-shaped to orm a li uid seal, said heatmgmeans being arrange in therising branch of said Up1 e.

3. In a continuous y operating absorption apparatus, in combination, agenerator, a condenser, an evaporator and an absorber, all of said partsbeing connected in unrestricted communication-with one another, pipesconnectin the generator and the absorber and provi ing a liquidcirculating system, a pi e connecting the evaporator with said liquidcirculatin system for returning unevaporated wor 'ng medium from theevaporator into said system, means'for heating the returned liquid priorto "its entrance into said system for the purpose of developing gas fromsaid liquid, and means for introducing said gas into said system, saidreturn pipe .necting the generator and the absorber and y limb of saidU-pipe, said heating means being arranged in said receptacle.

4. In a continuously operating absorption apparatus, in combination, agenerator, a condenser, an evaporator and an absorber, all of said partsbeing connected in unrestricted communication with one another, pi esconnectin the generator and the absor r and provi mg a liquidcirculating system, a pipe connecting the evaporator with said liquidcirculatin vsystem-for returning unevapo- 'rated wor g medium from theevaporator into said system, means for heatin the returned liquid priorto its entrance into said system for the pur ose of developing gas fromsaid liquid, an means for introducing said gas into said s stem, saidreturn pipe being U-shaped to orm a liquid seal, said heating meansbeing arranged in the rising branch of said U-pipe, the part of therising limb located above the heating point being contracted to such anextent, that in it liqui can be entrained by ascending gas bubbles.

5. In a continuously operating absorption machine the combination with agenerator,

a device for chan 'ng gaseous refrigerant I to a contracted flui phase,an evaporator, an

' absorber and pipes connecting the generator conducting unevaporatedliqui and absorber and providing a liquid circulating system, of aconduit connecting the evaporator with said liquid circulatin system forfrom the evaporatorto'said liquid circulating system and means forheatin a portion of said conduit for the purpose 0 generating gastherein.

In testimony'whereof I afiix m si EDMUND ALTE KI CH.

ature. I

